Side Hustlers; Is It the Way to Hire Now?

TL;DR – The gig economy now provides a win-win situation for both freelancers and employers. It is high time entrepreneurs make the most out of this new on-demand working culture.

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Side hustles were not jobs we now know as ranging from driving for Uber to assembling IKEA furniture for a small fee. They were gritty side-jobs that people undertake when strapped for cash and stuck in a minimum wage day job.

Well, not anymore. The internet and post-2008 crisis has given birth to a gig-economy and today’s millennials have turned what used to be a term of negative connotations into a flexible, minimal cost yet possibly high return venture. Enter the side-hustle, a means of securing a stable full-time career while complementing your income with a part-time skill or hobby that pays.

In start-ups, especially bootstrapping ones, hiring side-hustlers can have a significant impact onto your operating costs. It minimises long-term costs of keeping full-time employees on pay-roll and thus a cost-efficient way to run a business. But the bigger picture is more than just saving up on employment benefits!

As an employer, what suits your office needs better, a freelancer or a full-time employee? The folks at Coworks.com have created the following questions to help you decide.

Deciding Between a Freelancer vs. Employee

Are you hiring someone for a task that will be needed just once or infrequently?

Are you hiring someone for a task that is on-going and crucial to your business?

Are you hiring someone for months, or for years?

Are you hiring someone that you want to see advance within your company?

Are you hiring someone that you want to become a part of your company culture?

Hiring side-hustlers enables your full-time employees to focus on the bigger picture; the growth and expansion of your business without the baggage of micro-managing parts of your operations that are on-demand in nature. Businesses that take advantage of this frees itself from human resource woes and redundant bureaucracy, focusing on the endpoint: To maximise profit margins and maintain sustainable growth.

The trade-off can be minimal with the right structure and clear communication in place, in which you ensure the freelancers don’t end up clogging up work because they need too much direction, incurring unnecessary costs due to vague communication and/or late work submission. Just because it’s a freelance gig doesn’t mean you get to freewheel on the job!

The gig economy now provides a win-win situation for both freelancers and employers. It is high time entrepreneurs make the most out of this new on-demand working culture. So the next time your business needs a new logo but only for a short event? Well, you may just save your business thousands in the long run by hiring a freelancer over an in-house designer.